This was an individual project in my 4th year at The Oslo School of Architecture & Design. The task was to make an app with a picture set. As I love climbing and therefore have domain knowledge. Comitted climbers may have projects they work on for years, so I saw an opportunity for an app that made remembering beta for sport climbing routes easier. This idea came after a friend showed me how he used pictures, notes, and marks to remember his beta. I also imagined it would be appealing to share beta with other climbers. Platforms like this do exist for bouldering, but not for sports climbing. Therefore I chose to explore this.
As this is a climbing app, it may not make too much sense to non-climbers. But the idea is a community app, where users share beta for sport routes. Beta is information and descriptions of how to "solve" a specific route. The beta for a route is comparable to the choreography for a dance routine. However, in climbing, beta can be individual; it may be different for a short/tall climber or a flexible/strong climber.
The app gives the users the option to look at other peoples' beta and tools to remember their own beta through notation, icons, video, and pictures.
Throughout the process, I interviewed climbers, looked at ways people do this without an app, looked at similar platforms (for bouldering), and tested the prototype with climbers.
Throughout the process, I interviewed climbers, looked at ways people do this without an app, looked at similar platforms (for bouldering), and tested the prototype with climbers.
My main focus was on the navigation in the app, viewing beta, and editing beta—icons, notation, photos, and videos. I also implemented a search function, but as it was a short project this was not a priority.
